As Fate Would Have It
by Dafina
Summary: Hermione is trapped with Lucius Malfoy during the final battle and she begins to see him in a new perspective. HG/LM
1. Chapter 1

Wow, I'm actually doing a fanfic that's not SS/HG. I almost can't believe it. It's going to be fun. : )

Chapter 1

There was noise. The crack of firing spells mixed with pain strangled cries and shouts pervaded the night air. The neon light of curses was so bright against the dark of the night that it was painful to look across the school grounds. The spells were surely brighter than they ought to have been. Hermione fought the urge to close her eyes as blast after blast assaulted her retinas. Her eyes burned and began to water, but she ran past the jets of color, knowing that if she stopped, she would die.

She wasn't sure what she was doing. On some level she was aware she was now operating on basic survival instinct. She had gotten separated from the group of Aurors and 7th year students defending the castle as the battle had spread across the entire expanse of the Hogwarts grounds. For awhile the two sides of the battle had been clearly distinguished, almost as you might see in a proper war, but now the fighting was fractured into dozens of smaller groups. There was still a larger group of Order members and their allies fighting on the steps. Hermione had to get back there. Good as she was with a wand, she wasn't daft enough to think she could survive for long on her own whilst in a veritable sea of robed Death Eaters.

So this was what true chaos was like. How many people were here? Five hundred? More? There was so much noise. And while it was deafening, the loudest sound Hermione was aware of was the beating of her own heart. Strange, the way human perception worked in life threatening situations. Hermione didn't have long to think about it, she felt the presence of something descending down on her and whirled around to see a group of Dementors swiftly approaching. It was as if she were a young antelope singled out by a pride of hungry lions because she had accidentally strayed from the safety of the herd.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" she shrieked, hoping against hope that her spell was enough to get rid of the five soul-sucking creatures. She had about half a second to think of a potent happy thought. Would the end of the year feast after Harry stopped Voldemort from getting the Philosopher's Stone do the trick? She really hoped it would. Sure enough, a bright and vaporous otter sprang to life and shot towards the Dementors. With bone chilling screams of rage the creatures flew away. Hermione's Patronus went after them and she didn't stick around to watch it fade.

Hermione continued towards the castle, trying her best to stay away from the flashes of spells. Neither side was holding back. Every witch and wizard was fighting with a no holds barred attitude that was truly frightening to behold. The power behind each spell was incredible as every person battled with every ounce of strength they possessed and then some. Hermione tried to look for a path that would take her to the front of the castle and she cursed herself for not being a few inches taller. It was hard enough to see in the dark, without having to be on a hair-trigger alert for fatal curses coming in her direction. And who knew how much time she had before the Dementors found their friends and returned to finish what they had started? She didn't think she'd be able to fight them off a second time, certainly not so soon after the first attack.

She _had _to get back to the castle.

But it seemed so far away.

She ran. Cold fear fueled her body and she visualized herself rejoining the main group. She had to believe that there was safety in numbers. Putting on a sudden burst of speed Hermione sprinted towards the school.

She was perhaps a dozen feet from her desired destination when a female figure stepped into her path. Hermione's heart clenched in sudden terror as she realized who the woman was. Bellatrix Lestrange.

Bellatrix smiled smugly. Her wand was aimed at Hermione's chest.

It was then that Hermione understood her mistake. She was severely winded. In her mad attempt at getting back to the castle she hadn't considered what would happen if she got caught in a duel. She had been running as hard as she possibly could and it had weakened her strength. What was worse was that Bellatrix knew damn well Hermione wasn't able to properly defend herself.

Hermione sucked air into her lungs, her chest heaving with exhaustion and more than a little fear. Especially after the woman had so recently tortured her.

Narrowing her eyes in determination Hermione forced herself to steady her wand hand.

"Crucio!" Bellatrix screamed triumphantly.

"Expelliarmus!" Hermione shouted as clearly and loudly as she could, desperately trying to block Bellatrix's curse. Her voice wasn't as strong as it would have been if she hadn't been so stupidly depleting almost all of her physical energy. She hadn't even realized how tired she was making herself. Somehow she'd thought the adrenaline in her system would be enough to get back to the safety of the group.

She was about to pay for that error with her life. Her spell was deflected by Bellatrix's curse, which given Hermione's current state had been the stronger spell of the two.

Hermione screamed in pain and nearly dropped her wand. While she was almost certainly dead anyway, she knew that to do so would be tantamount to actually giving the evil bitch permission to kill her. She clenched her hand around her wand and forced herself to keep her eyes locked on Bellatrix as pain assaulted her every nerve.

"What a lost little lamb you are, Granger!" Bellatrix exclaimed and laughed maniacally. "You won't be getting away this time."

Hermione glared at Bellatrix through her pain. And suddenly something was set free deep within the most primal part of her soul. It was rage so powerful and searing that it drowned out everything else with unbridled force. Even her pain.

Hermione straightened her spine and curled her lips in a feral snarl.

She was back in the fight. It wasn't going to be so easy to take her out.

Bellatrix's eyes widened a considerable degree at Hermione's sudden recovery.

"INCENDIARO!" Hermione cried, her eyes blazing with intent.

Bellatrix saw the roaring jet of flame come out of Hermione's wand and she quickly threw up a protective shield around herself. It went into place just as Hermione's fire hit it with a blast so strong it actually made Bellatrix stumble backward.

Then something happened Hermione hadn't expected.

A growing ball of light sprung from where her spell made contact with Bellatrix's and rocketed back towards her with such speed Hermione barely had time to run in the other direction. Although it didn't look like it was her spell firing back on her, she didn't want to take the chance and find out.

Unfortunately she didn't get much of a choice. She tried to dodge out of the light's path but in her haste she knocked into someone. Together, she and the mystery person fell to the ground just as the ball of light enveloped the two of them.

A second later the light was gone.

And she was on top of a very surprised looking Lucius Malfoy.

Her knee was digging into his right hip. It took her brain a second to process what was going on. She was more than a little shocked. Even more so when Lucius put his hands on her and moved her to the side.

She was lying on soft green grass on a hillside. Malfoy sat up and looked around. There was a big tree nearby and a steady breeze blew through its leaves. The sky was mixture of varying shades of grey. Sunlight seemed to be trying to poke through the clouds, but wasn't making very good headway.

Hermione's heart leapt all the way to her mouth as she saw that she had somehow dropped her wand when she'd landed. It rested in the grass a good seven feet away from where she was.

Lucius sighed and gave her a look.

"You won't be needing that here," he said, indicating Hermione's prone wand with his eyes. "Wands never work properly in Spell Pockets."

Hermione stared at him warily. Lucius rolled his eyes.

"Here, I'll just bloody show you, all right?" he asked, raising his wand for her to see. He pointed it at Hermione's wand.

"Accio Hermione Granger's wand," he said and did the appropriate elegant flick.

A dozen orange butterflies flew out of his wand and rose into the air towards the tree.

"See?"

"It could be a trick," Hermione said pointedly.

"Fine," he told her and reached across the grass to retrieve her wand. He held it out to her calmly. "Try a spell then."

Hermione closed her fingers around her wand and he let go, waiting for her to proceed.

"Lumos," she said clearly. Absolutely nothing happened. She even went as far as to try the spell a second time. The result, or more appropriately the lack thereof was the same.

Lucius gave her a perfect haughty I-told-you-so look.

"Do you know what a Spell Pocket is?" he asked her.

Hermione scowled, not entirely pleased to admit that there was something she didn't know about magic.

"I have a feeling that you're going to tell me," she said.

"Not such a Know-It-All after all, are you, Miss Granger?" he asked smoothly.

Hermione gave him an arch stare.

"You know I can't know _everything._"

"A Spell Pocket, Miss Granger, is a temporary rift in time and space created by two very powerful spells clashing together. There are two types, the common kind, which is what we're in, and the kind that hold alternate realities. As a rule, the common Spell Pockets are very unstable, as demonstrated by the irregularity of magic within them. Not much is known about those that are able to generate alternate realities. The Ministry has a whole Department whose job is to actually create Spell Pockets and study them. At any rate, for the moment, you and I are trapped here. Spell Pockets dissipate once the energies that created them settle closer to equilibrium. I suspect it will release us once the battle has cooled down and strong spell energies are no longer flooding the area surrounding the pocket."

Hermione took a half a minute to think about what he'd said.

"We're on precisely on Earth anymore, are we?"

"Technically no. We're in a pocket dimension that opens out onto the school grounds."

"A pocket dimension. You said it's unstable. Can it be dangerous?"

"The only Spell Pocket I've ever encountered was in a duel my second year of University. My opponent was an old Slytherin rival and we got a little carried away. The duel itself lasted over an hour and the Spell Pocket lasted only five or ten minutes."

"What did you see?" Hermione couldn't quite hold back from asking the question.

"A dome of rainbow light. It was more simple than this."

There was a stretch of a minute's silence.

"So we might be stuck here for hours?" Hermione asked.

Lucius leveled an icy stare at her.

"Forgive me if I don't thank you."

Hermione swallowed hard. He may not be able to do magic, but she was willing to bet that should he chose to he could damn well strangle her or snap her neck.

"I'm sorry," she said.

Lucius snorted. His expression remained hard. Hermione backed away, feeling horribly vulnerable under his cold gaze.

He looked at her and there was something in her eyes that made him soften his expression a degree.

"Be thankful you weren't trapped in here with Bellatrix."

Hermione's eyes widened at the thought. Lucius continued to study her curiously.

"Please," she said imploringly. "Don't hurt me."

Lucius arched an aristocratic brow.

"Do you think that's my intention?"

"Somehow I think you'd hate to pass up the opportunity to hurt Harry Potter's Muggleborn friend."

"Fortunately for you, I can't perform a killing curse right now."

Hermione didn't respond. It was evident that she was still very much afraid.

"You're not going to try to kill me without magic?"

"No." He sounded tired.

Not quite sure whether she should believe him, Hermione was just beginning to realize how exhausted she was from the battle. This place was pleasantly peaceful and she dearly wished she could bring herself to close her eyes, even if just for a few minutes.

If she weren't six feet from Lucius Malfoy, she would have considered taking a bit of a nap. But as it was she just didn't feel comfortable letting her guard down around the man, even if he couldn't do magic.

Evidently he had no qualms about settling down to rest. She watched as he stretched out on his back and actually closed his eyes.

Watching him only made Hermione more acutely aware of how tired she was. She stifled a yawn with her hand.

She would _not _let herself go to sleep in front of Lucius Malfoy.

If she did, it would surely be the most foolish thing she'd ever done.

She tried to stop herself from yawning again. She failed.

Maybe she just close her eyes for one minute . . .

Within ten minutes Hermione was sleeping next to Lucius. He glanced over and saw that she was next to him. He should have been disgusted by her presence. She had on Muggle clothing-blue jeans no less!-and her hair was in an abysmal state of disarray. Yet, oddly enough he couldn't quite summon the energy to feel repulsed at the moment. Perhaps later he'd be awake enough for Granger loathing. As it was he merely closed his eyes and let himself fall into a light sleep beside her.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I got surgery a couple of weeks ago, and only just started to feel good enough to write this week. I had to get my right Fallopian tube and ovary removed. Not a fun procedure. I was sick and in pain for over a week afterwards. But I'm doing great and I'm back to fanfiction now!

I've noticed that the stats pages have been changed. Does anyone else think it's uber-confusing? I hope they're still modifying it to make it better.

Chapter 2

Hermione awoke and for a few jarring seconds hadn't the least notion of where she was. She appeared to be in some sort of hilly meadow, and . . . _oh right, the Spell Pocket. _Followed by, _oh no, Mr. Malfoy! _Hermione suddenly snapped her head to the side, cursing her foolishness for succumbing to sleep in the Death Eater's presence, even if he had been intent on sleeping himself. However at the moment, the man was nowhere to be seen. Hermione scrambled into a sitting position, her heartbeat pounding quickly, all of her senses alert. Her eyes caught motion off to the side and her gaze homed in on Lucius, presently walking through the grass some fifty yards away. Hermione watched him walk. His steps held a remarkable fluid grace that spoke of physical strength. She didn't think she'd ever seen a man move with such natural power. It was rather something to behold.

She immediately gave herself a mental slap. Unnaturally attractive he might be, she knew she should remember he was her enemy. The only reason she was even breathing right now was because he couldn't perform the Avada Kedavra Curse within the confines of the Spell Pocket. Had they met each other on the battlefield, she had no doubt he would have tried to kill her. And would have very possibly succeeded.

He chose that moment to look in her direction. His gaze locked onto hers and in that one second, Hermione's chest tightened uncomfortably. She swallowed hard, hoping he'd continue on in the direction he'd been going. Unfortunately he turned and began to approach her.

The constriction in Hermione's chest was painful now. She watched him walk towards her, thinking that she'd never felt so vulnerable. If only she could do magic, . . . Before he was halfway to her she almost grabbed her wand anyways. Only she couldn't quite get her muscles to work.

Lucius drew inexorably closer. Hermione's mouth went dry. When he was a couple feet away, Lucius stopped.

"Sleep well?"

Hermione didn't answer. Even if she'd wanted to, she didn't have a voice to answer with. Instead, she opted to eye him very, very warily.

Lucius sighed.

"You're still in one piece, you see. I didn't strangle you in your sleep."

Hermione continued to stare at him. Really, what was she supposed to say to that? Gee, thanks for not killing me? Hermione watched as Lucius seated himself on the grass. He didn't say anything for awhile, and just studied the sky and the Spell Pocket's single enormous tree. It seemed that the clouds were perhaps getting a little darker and the wind perhaps a little stronger. After a few minutes, he cast another look at Hermione.

"Surely, you can comfortably surmise that as I haven't tried to kill you or otherwise harm you in any way by now, I'm not going to do so at any other time?"

Hermione didn't immediately answer.

"I suppose that makes sense, at least while you're in a situation that prevents you from performing any dark curses. But what about when we get out of this Spell Pocket? I can't bring myself to feel better about you while we're stuck here if you're going to Avada Kedavra me at the very first opportunity when we get out."

Lucius stared at her calmly for several seconds. Hermione forced herself to hold his gaze, even if it did make her heart jump into her throat. She was a Gryffindor, after all.

"Miss Granger," Lucius said smoothly. "I think you need to reconsider what I've said. If I recall correctly, I ended my sentence with 'at any other time'. Does that not imply my statement also encompasses the time occurring immediately after our emergence from this Spell Pocket?"

"It might," Hermione said in a quiet tone, "If you were worthy of being trusted."

Lucius blinked. He then fixed a very pointed stare upon Hermione. She visibly tensed. "I say, you _are _damnably irritating. When Draco told me you were, I assumed it was only because of your ability to best him academically. Evidently it also had much to do with your sickeningly Gryffindor personality. You're really missing the point of what I'm saying. Let me enlighten you. Miss Granger, if I wanted you dead, I _would _have strangled you in your sleep. As you are still quite alive, you should realise it's safe to say that I don't want you dead."

The wind suddenly picked up, loudly rustling the leaves of the tree. Both Lucius and Hermione glanced up at the sky. The clouds were dark and heavy looking. Hermione made a small plaintive squeak. She never minded storms much, unless she was outside. When she was nine years old, her parents had taken her to an amusement park. A bad storm had sprung up unexpectedly and thousands of people had made a mad dash for their cars. She and her parents had been part of that crowd and there were so many people, not all of them could fit under the roofed shelters. Sheer bad luck had forced Hermione and her parents to be in the crowd of people running to their cars because they couldn't find a dry place to stand. The trip back to their vehicle had taken an eternity in Hermione's mind. In truth it had taken almost twenty minutes. That was quite long enough when one was in the middle of soaking heavy rain, booming thunder and blindingly bright lightning. Ever since then, she'd taken pains to avoid ever being caught outside during a storm. She still had nightmares about being caught outside during a storm. And it wasn't as if her fears were completely unfounded. Lightning could and did kill people.

There was a low rolling rumble of thunder. Hermione made another futile sound of protest, her heart racing. Within a couple of seconds, rain was falling with heavy, hard hitting drops. Lucius swore vehemently.

"Come, it will be better under that tree."

Hermione didn't have to be told twice. She'd take any form of shelter available, even if standing under a tree during a storm wasn't exactly the safest thing to do. It wasn't as if it would be any less safe than sitting out in the open. And the rain was terribly cold.

Practically jumping to her feet, Hermione followed Lucius to the tree. The walk took less than a minute, but it felt like ten times that to Hermione. Fortunately, the worst of the rain waited to start until after the two of them were sitting against the tree's wide trunk. Also fortunate was the fact that the tree was so massive and it's branches so wide and dense with leaves, not much rain was able to get through and land on them.

It had gotten colder and Hermione shivered. Lucius looked at her, taking measure of her discomfort. Hermione watched him look at her, knowing she was on the verge of tears and being well beyond caring.

Without saying anything, Lucius deftly unclasped his cloak from his neck, took it off and placed it around Hermione's shoulders. Hermione looked at him.

"Thank you," she said sincerely. Her voice shook a little.

Lucius nodded elegantly and continued to watch Hermione as she pulled the cloak tightly around her body. The cloth was pleasantly warm from Lucius's body heat. Hermione looked back at Lucius just as the storm began in earnest. A deafening crash of thunder sounded from directly overhead and was followed quickly by a sharp flash of lightning. Hermione trembled, and this time it wasn't from the cold. It was from terror. Her breathing quickened. Lucius looked at her curiously.

"Are you quite all right?"

"I have a great fear of being close to storms. I had a bad experience as a child."

"Ah."

Hermione drew her knees up to her chest and tucked her head down, trying her best to even out her breathing. She wasn't succeeding very well. The wind howled and Hermione pulled Lucius's cloak even more closely against her skin. The soft material smelled of him. There was a rich masculine scent mixed with something fainter that was surely some kind of outrageously expensive cologne.

The wind increased suddenly in intensity and a tree limb broke and crashed to the ground close to where they were sitting eliciting a shriek from deep within Hermione's throat.

Lucius pulled a face at the earsplitting sound, but Hermione didn't see it. She was well and truly panicked now. Lucius considered her, cocking his head a bit to the side while he decided his next move. The poor chit looked as if she were on the verge of hyperventilating.

The storm didn't look like it was going to let up anytime soon. If given a choice, Lucius would rather not have to watch her almost die of fright every time something scared her. The way he figured it, he could either do nothing and watch her suffer, or else he could try to distract her from her fear. If nothing else, distracting her would certainly be much more interesting.

Thunder crashed tremendously, sounding like an exploding bomb. Now sitting ramrod straight, Hermione began to cry openly. How she wished it would all just stop. Being in the middle of such a violent storm with no serious protection was truly the worst feeling of helplessness.

Hermione knew the lightning would come within a second or two, she braced herself for it, but flinched when it came anyways. She gasped, a tight sobbing sound escaping her lips as more tears flowed down her cheeks. She gasped suddenly again when Lucius took that second to place his mouth over hers. She tensed tremendously. He moved his lips slowly, hoping she'd do the same. If she didn't kiss him back, he was going to have to call his attempt at calming her down an utter failure and hope she wasn't angry enough to do him bodily harm. Five seconds passed, maybe six and Lucius was just about to pull away when Hermione opened her mouth for him. Lucius moved his lips again, intensifying the kiss now that she was with him and on top of what was going on. He parted her lips with his and allowed her to decide how they would proceed. Hermione initiated a second kiss, this time pressing her mouth more firmly against Lucius's. He responded to her as she wished and when she opened her mouth beneath his, he gently touched his tongue to hers. She gasped, and this time it wasn't from fear. He teased her mouth and tongue a little and then completed the kiss. He drew his head away from her a little to see her expression. It looked a little dazed.

At least she wasn't crying anymore. He half expected her to come to her senses and be outraged at what he'd done. Instead, she smiled. And Merlin help him, that smile was utterly provocative. Thunder crashed again and Hermione moved forward and kissed the man before her. He responded in kind, kissing her a touch more heatedly than before. Her lips were silken soft and kissing them was an easy task for him. She deepened their kiss, her tongue pushing against his with unexpected passion. He let her play with him, bringing his hands to her hips and smoothly pulling her into his lap while she did so. Lightning cracked extremely loudly, the zap of the electricity almost as loud as the previous thunderclaps.

Funny, but this time, Hermione didn't seem to notice. Lucius nipped her bottom lip playfully and Hermione opened her mouth wider against his when he kissed her again. She allowed his tongue further entry and as he explored the back recesses of her mouth, Hermione settled her body more firmly against his. It was all Lucius could do not to groan aloud.

Did she realize what she was doing to him? He kissed her harder and Hermione let out a low moan. The sound went straight to his groin. He kissed her for another couple of minutes, increasingly aware of his growing erection. At Hermione's strangled squeak, he guessed that she had become aware of it as well. She pulled away from him and stared into his eyes.

"I can't . . ."

Lucius looked at her steadily.

"I'm not asking you to."

Hermione got off of him and sat back against the tree, pulling his cloak around her body again. It had fallen from her shoulders as he'd kissed her. She took a deep breath, her brain only now beginning to process what had occurred.

She listened to the storm and the sound of the rain hitting the tree. There was only one way she could accept what had happened. And that was to firmly tell herself that she'd been temporarily insane.

She thought about the feel of Lucius's lips against hers and heat coiled in her body at the memory. She tried to force it from her mind, but with him sitting a mere ten inches away that was more than impossible.

By far, the worst of it was that even now she had a very strong desire to kiss him again. She was still insane. That was all there was to it.

He was a Death Eater who openly despised Muggleborns. If they'd met under different circumstances she seriously doubted he would have hesitated to throw a killing curse in her direction. That being true, why had she so thoroughly enjoyed kissing him? He should have scared her even more than the storm.

Honestly, he _did _scare her. But now it was due to an entirely different reason than him possibly killing her.

The situation was like an utterly bizarre dream. Maybe it actually was a dream and Hermione would wake up at any second in the safety of her own bed.

Hermione felt Lucius's eyes on her. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. And really, there was no reason she _should _look at him.

"I've frightened you, haven't I?" he asked her. "That wasn't my intention."

"Why?" she asked him at length.

"You were upset. I merely thought I'd ease your fear."

Hermione stared at him, unblinking.

"Again, let's go with the why."

"Honestly? I'm not sure I know."

Hermione watched the sky. It actually looked the storm was just about over. The rain was falling lightly now and the clouds were finally lightening up. A change of topic was in order.

"How long do you think we've been here?"

"Four or five hours perhaps?"

"Does that mean the battle's been continuing for that long? Surely, it would have ended."

"Spell Pockets last as long as the magical energies that created them are active. In all likelihood the battle has indeed ended. It's just a matter of waiting for the energy from the battle's spells to calm down enough to set us free."

"That should be soon, right?"

"I'd imagine so."

The rain stopped completely. There was light coming through the clouds now. Hermione realized she was still wrapped in Lucius's cloak. She took it off.

"You should take this back," she told him, setting in on the ground between them. Lucius let the cloak remain where it was. Neither he nor Hermione spoke for nearly five minutes. A flood of nervousness worked its way into Hermione's stomach. She was thinking about the battle. More importantly, who had won. From what she'd seen, it was anyone's guess as to who the final victors would be. She gave Lucius a look out of the corners of her eyes. "What do you think happened?" Her voice was incredibly small.

"I'd say there's a good chance that your side won."

"Why do you say that?"

"You have the infernally difficult to kill Harry Potter championing your forces."

"And you have the darkest wizard the world has ever seen championing yours."

Lucius didn't immediately respond.

"It seems we'll just have to wait and see."

Hermione didn't say anything. He was right of course. It was pointless to try and guess the outcome of the battle when they hadn't been anywhere near it for the last few hours. Settling into a more comfortable position, Hermione hoped the wait wouldn't be much longer.

She shivered again. It was still uncomfortably cold. The next thing she knew, Lucius was draping the discarded cloak around her shoulders again. She didn't protest.

Some part of her brain told that she should have. She decided not to listen to it.

Lucius then settled back against the tree trunk to wait with her. He made no attempt at conversation and for that Hermione was grateful.

It would be better if she avoided involving herself with him in any way. That's what the logical part of her mind told her. Of course, the non-logical part told her to crawl into his lap and kiss him senseless. The heat that had settled low in her belly ever since he'd kissed her and had never quite gone away quickly intensified at the thought.

She paled at the sensation.

The sooner she could escape his presence, the better. In the meantime, she was just going to have to try her damnedest to ignore him.

A/N: I'll be updating Enspelled before I post another chapter. I must admit, I'm thoroughly enjoying writing a story where Lucius isn't completely evil.


	3. Chapter 3

HG/LM lemon ahead. Enjoy! : D

Chapter 3

Hermione didn't have a watch with her, but she knew a good length of time had passed. She figured it'd been about an hour. The tree was quickly becoming a less than desirable backrest. She would have changed position, . . . but as Lucius Malfoy still sat less than an arm's length away, she'd be damned if she turned to face him. She didn't let her mind entertain any thoughts about reasons _why. _And she sure as hell wasn't going to turn her back on him.

It seemed she'd just have to settle for having hard bark dig into her back. She made a little sound in the back of her throat and folded her arms across her chest, staring out at the field in supreme disdain.

"You're still dead set on ignoring me, aren't you?"

Hermione's pointed silence was a clear affirmation for him. Lucius, however, was undeterred.

"Come now, I know you loathe sitting here in absolute silence as much as I do."

Hermione gave him no acknowledgement.

"The wait will only seem to take longer if we make ourselves suffer from boredom. Certainly you can't hate me so much that you'll refuse to speak to me? We could be here for another several hours."

Reluctantly, and very grudgingly, Hermione privately acknowledged that he did have a point. Still, she refused to look at him.

"As I understand it, this pocket could dispel at any minute. Any second really. I see no reason to assume we even have time to hold a conversation."

Hermione almost looked at him to see his expression, but she held herself in check. She could imagine it well enough. It would be the picture of aristocratic consternation.

"She speaks at last! If I didn't know better I'd think we were starting a conversation."

Despite everything, Hermione almost let her lips form a smile at his words. She forced herself not to react and had a strong desire to glower at the man beside her. She decided against that as well. When after two or three minutes she didn't respond, she heard Lucius sigh heavily.

_I do hope he's given up._

Lucius cast a look at Hermione without turning his head, a slight smirk playing at his lips. _She thinks she's won,_ he thought to himself. _Shall I show her the error of her assumption?_

He wasn't sure why he was attracted to her. She was averagely pretty, but that wasn't why he was sexually interested in her. He told himself he probably didn't want to examine it in any great detail. She was simply a challenge for him.

Quite frankly, it had been an embarrassingly long time since he'd had a memorable woman. Those with whom he'd had reasonably recent relations with all left little impression on him. Disgusting, really. As a result, he'd come to adopt a more celibate lifestyle than he would have liked to have. If Narcissa was inclined to share her body with him, things might have been different. He at least liked to think so. But no, _she _was sickeningly loyal to her lover.

The way Hermione had responded to his kiss was a refreshing change from the sexual ennui that had become normal for him.

He thought about kissing her again, and felt the stirrings of arousal in his groin.

Why did a Gryffindor have such an effect on him? Simply because she was there?

No, that made him sound like he wanted to screw her just because she was female. _That _wasn't true.

_Why, then for Merlin's sake?_

His lips pressed into a tight line as he considered his next move. In all honesty he should probably leave the young woman alone. Morally, it was without a doubt the right thing to do. If he made further advances on her he'd only be selfishly taking advantage of her.

Fire burned in his blood and he knew what decision he was leaning towards. Besides, if _her _side won, he'd be thrown unceremoniously into a secure cell in Azkaban. And there his celibacy would be absolute. He nearly shuddered at the thought.

He acknowledged in the back of his mind that Hermione Granger deserved to be with someone who actually had feelings for her. He drowned that thought by telling himself that even if she _were _with someone who cared for her, unless it was with someone outside the Potter brigade, he wouldn't be able to give her as much pleasure as he could. He'd had dozens of mistresses and he knew women who would sell their souls to be with him. Unfortunately he couldn't say they inspired reciprocal feelings.

Lucius turned his head slightly to look at Hermione fully, wondering if he could make her look at him with the weight of his stare alone. It didn't seem like he was going to have any luck. Surely she knew he was watching her?

Surprising him, Hermione quickly stood up and walked away down the hill.

_So much for that_, he thought dryly.

Of course it wasn't like she could _really _go anywhere. There was nothing stopping him from following her. He snorted at the futility of her actions. Really, it was a terribly Gryffindor thing for her to do. They always liked to pretend like they were in control of the situation. Slytherins on the other hand never had to pretend. They were _always _in control of the situation as he was now. Miss Granger just didn't know it yet. He smiled wickedly at the thought of making her realize the truth of their situation.

But he wouldn't follow her just yet. He'd do that after she relaxed enough to let her guard down a bit.

Hermione sat facing away from the tree, feeling utterly conscious of the man sitting beneath it. She had a suspicion that her face was a little flushed from the intensity of his gaze before she'd mustered the nerve to walk away. She swallowed hard. What was wrong with her? She really shouldn't be thinking about _Draco's father_ in a sexual context.

But damn, it was getting to be impossible not to. Wouldn't it be nice if she could just will herself to disappear? It was all the damned Spell Pocket's fault. If it hadn't stormed so badly he never would have kissed her and she wouldn't be in her current position.

She made a face, wishing once again that it was all some kind of weird dream. She was used to being able to use logic and intellect to get herself out of difficult situations. Somehow those two things didn't seem able to apply here.

With any luck the Spell Pocket would release them soon and she'd never have to see Lucius Malfoy again. If Harry had defeated Voldemort, Lucius would go to Azkaban. If the unthinkable happened, Hermione could escape to Australia, reverse the spell on her parents and attempt to live a normal life.

Either way, she wouldn't have to worry about Lucius.

Hermione held her wand, and just for the sake of something to do, she tried some simple spells. To her chagrin none of them worked, not that she'd really expected them to. It was more than a little disconcerting being unable to do magic and it made her chest tighten all the more with a deep rooted nervousness that wouldn't go away until she was out of the Spell Pocket.

Hermione put her wand on the grass next to her and looked up at the sky. It was the same overcast it had been when they'd first arrived in the pocket dimension. She really hoped it wouldn't storm again.

Hermione counted slowly to a hundred trying to calm herself down. It helped, but only slightly. She tightened her hands in the long soft grass. More than a little frustrated, Hermione began to tear out great big clumps of grass. Perhaps five minutes passed and Hermione's pile of grass blades turned into a small heap.

"Really, Miss Granger, what did the grass ever do to you?"

Hermione instantly froze. Lucius was standing perhaps two feet, if that, behind her.

What was she supposed to do?

She wondered what he'd do if she begged him to leave her alone. Would he walk away? Her heart beat faster and heat suffused her body. To her horror, Lucius decided to take a seat behind her left shoulder. He was less than a foot away from her now, and she could almost feel his body heat. More to her horror, there was a part of her that wanted nothing more than to lean back into him.

He was so close to her. A chill went down her spine and it had nothing to do with the temperature of the air. It was as if something had broken inside her and had awoken a powerful sexual awareness, almost primal in its intensity. Her chest tightened and a jolt of heat pooled low in her abdomen flowing down to intensify in the center of her feminine core.

Hermione went still. She didn't dare turn around.

"Please," she said softly. Whether it was a protest or a supplication she didn't know. Thoughts were blurring in her mind until all she was aware of was the intoxicating masculinity of the man behind her.

She trembled visibly.

"Cold, Miss Granger?" he asked, his voice dropping down suggestively.

Hermione didn't say anything. She closed her eyes, knowing that if she turned to look at him, what little self-control she still had would shatter.

That in itself was terrifying. The sane, still rational part of her mind screamed that she needed to snap out of whatever thrall Lucius's proximity produced and force herself to think straight. Really, it was wrong of her to have lustful thoughts about such a dangerous man. It was out of character, the voice reminded her franticly. Didn't she have more self-respect than to behave like some sex-crazed slag with a man who embodied everything she stood against?

Lucius leaned forward and Hermione could almost feel his chest against her back. Her mind was just sharp enough to realize that he'd done that quite on purpose. He wasn't going to come any closer, if she wanted more contact she was going to have to be the one who initiated it.

Would this be happening if she'd just decided to talk with him under that stupid thrice-damned tree?

Hermione's breath caught in her throat and she leaned back. Lucius's lips found the sensitive spot just below one of her ears, his hands coming to rest on her stomach. Heat bloomed in Hermione's body, traveling down her limbs and her heart suddenly beat faster. Lucius's tongue found Hermione's right ear and a spasm of desire jolted her stomach. She let out a small gasp.

Lucius laughed softly, triumphantly, obviously pleased by her reaction. Hermione splayed her hands over Lucius's muscular thighs shifting slightly in position. Her lower back touched his hardening cock and this time she didn't jump away, despite the voice still screaming at her to stop whatever the hell she was doing. It was far too late to listen to it now.

Lucius's hands slid Hermione's jeans down her hips and she obligingly toed her shoes off. Hermione's discarded pile of clothing grew as Lucius brought his hands up to her waist. He helped her lift her shirt over her head. Wearing only a matching set of white undergarments delicately embroidered with pearlescent flowers Hermione turned around in Lucius's arms to kiss him. Her lips were firm, insistent even, her tongue questing for his as his hands deftly reached around and undid the clasp of her bra and divested her of it, carelessly throwing it off to the side.

His thumbs teased her nipples and she moaned shamelessly into his mouth. Hermione opened Lucius's shirt with record speed before bringing her hands to the front of his trousers to free his hot erection.

And to think Hermione had never done this before. She could have fooled anyone if they were watching her now.

_It's magic_, the voice in the very back of her mind stated. _It must be magic. Perhaps he has an innate ability to perform the Imperious Curse. _She thought the words even though she knew they weren't true. And even on the remote chance that they were, she firmly decided that she didn't care.

She took him in her hand deftly running her fingers along the underside of his shaft. She skimmed him with her nails and his cock twitched significantly. He let out an inarticulate exclamation.

He kissed her fiercely in response as she brought her hand up to play with the head of his cock. Unconsciously he thrust his hips up into her hand, groaning into her mouth before nipping her bottom lip. She gripped him tighter running her hand up and down his shaft, increasing speed each time.

In the state he was in, if she kept _that _up much longer this would all be over very quickly. He put his hand on her wrist, stopping her.

"Don't you want more?" His voice was strangely tight.

She looked into his eyes.

Would he care that she was a virgin? She wanted him in a way she knew she really had no business wanting him. There was no way she could prevent pregnancy in the Spell Pocket. She knew he had to know that too. But her blood was on fire and all she could think about was joining her body with Lucius's. And she knew that even if they pleasured each other in different ways she'd always look back on this moment and wonder what it would have been like if they had intercourse.

She kissed him slowly. When she finally pulled back she brought her lips to his ear.

"Take me," she breathed, biting the edge of his ear.

If she had this moment with him, Hermione knew she'd be spoiled for other partners for the rest of her life. Sure, there were other men like him. But she was willing to bet they'd be damned difficult to find. If that was the price she had to pay to be with Lucius Malfoy then so be it. She was willing to bet it'd be worth it.

Lucius didn't need any further invitation. He stood up briefly and removed his shirt, trousers, and boots before returning to Hermione. Together they pulled her knickers off of her body and then they shared a deeply passionate kiss. Lucius trailed his hands over Hermione's breasts down her stomach to the patch of feminine curls between her legs. He played a bit with the delicate folds of skin before dipping two fingers inside her. Hermione twitched against him and Lucius smiled wickedly. He teased her mercilessly until she cried out, shuddering as the purest form of physical pleasure tore through her body.

She sighed in ecstasy but Lucius didn't let her relax. He brought his hand her folds and peeled them back to tease her clit with his thumb and forefinger. Hermione tensed and sucked her breath in a tight gasp.

"Lucius," she breathed, a smile on her lips.

Lucius breathed in the scent of her hair. It smelled of some kind of feminine and flowery shampoo.

"Hermione," he whispered into her ear, dropping his voice and octave. That alone was nearly enough to make her orgasm a second time. She came within a moment of him expertly increasing the pressure against her most sensitive part.

She shivered as sparks of pleasure shot down her spine, making her toes curl.

Lucius kissed her neck bringing his hands to her hips. Hermione leaned her head back against his shoulder. After a minute she began to turn to face him but Lucius tightened his hold on her, preventing her from doing so.

"Don't. I want to give you a memory unlike any you'll have later. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes, I . . . I rather think it is."

"Excellent," he said silkily, dropping his voice down again. "Now get on your hands and knees."

Hermione's stomach tightened at the command. She complied without protest.

"You'll enjoy it more if the ground isn't digging into your back," he told her, as he covered her body with his.

Lucius kissed her shoulder in a thoroughly erotic manner, using his tongue and teeth to tease her skin.

"Relax," he breathed, before kissing her shoulder again. He entered her with his hand again stretching her as best he could with his fingers. She was slick with desire. He pushed his hand into her further and she couldn't help tensing against him. "You're not relaxing," he told her.

"I don't think I can," she told him.

Lucius pulled his hand from her and brought it up to slowly stroke her stomach.

"You can," he told her softly.

Hermione let a breath out slowly, allowing herself to relax. The next thing she knew Lucius's erection touched her intimately. She remained relaxed even though her own heartbeat was loud in her ears.

Then in one sharp motion, Lucius thrust his hips forward.

Hermione tensed against the pain, holding her breath as it diminished, but Lucius was already set on easing her discomfort. His long elegant fingers returned to her pleasure center, flicking and rubbing.

He allowed her to get used to his presence inside her body, content to bring her to orgasm with his hand alone. The whole thing took less than a minute to achieve and she gasped loudly. Really, shouldn't it take longer for her to reach such an intense breaking point? Apparently, Lucius Malfoy was a _very_ talented man.

Lucius kissed the edge of Hermione's jaw.

"Shall I move?" he inquired.

"Mm," Hermione sighed.

"Is that a yes, then?"

"Mm, mm-hm."

Lucius pulled back and thrust into her, spreading Hermione's legs apart further so that he could more fully bury himself inside her.

Hermione shivered with desire and Lucius repeated the action reveling in the wet tightness of her body. He kissed her shoulder again, biting it possessively as he thrust into her again, this time increasing the speed and force of his movement. Hermione arched her back and turned her head to look at him. His lips met hers druggingly, and his hand tweaked her right nipple.

She whimpered in pleasure, the sound driving Lucius to increase his rhythm further. Hermione's mind blurred as she lost herself in one of the most notorious Death Eaters known to the Order of the Phoenix.

Minutes passed, but to Hermione it could have been hours.

Hermione came a few heartbeats before Lucius, tightening her body around him, inducing him to do the same. He did, his body tensing as he came.

Less than a minute later, Lucius withdrew himself and stood up. Hermione was terribly cold without his body against hers. She shivered and Lucius tossed her her clothing as he dressed.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Cold," she said, hoping it _really _wouldn't be much longer before the Spell Pocket dissipated.

Hermione dressed quickly.

"Can I have your cloak again?" she asked hopefully.

"Of course." He handed the garment to her and she wrapped it tightly around her body.

"Is there something I'm supposed to say?" Hermione asked him. "Besides the obvious I won't ever tell another soul what happened here?"

Lucius smiled.

"I highly doubt if they would believe you anyway."

Hermione smiled back at him.

"True," she said. "Or if they did, they'd commit me to the psych ward at St. Mungo's."

Lucius made a face of distaste. "You wouldn't want that."

"Really, you don't think so?"

"It's only perk might be you'd get some fun medication to try. There's some magical potions that can keep you high for days at a time."

"I don't think I'll ask how you know that."

Lucius gave her a look.

"It's probably best that you don't."

Hermione sighed contentedly, wondering what to say next when she noticed something strange on the horizon.

"Lucius, look."

The sky was shimmering and had a strangely transparent quality to it. After a few seconds Hermione could see white clouds in the distance behind the gray ones of the Spell Pocket.

During the next thirty seconds the colors of everything in the Spell Pocket lightened until everything was transparent.

To Hermione's relief, Hogwarts appeared. Perhaps time had passed differently in the Spell Pocket, or else they'd been it a lot longer than they'd guessed because the sun was shining brightly and the sky was an unusual shade of crystal blue.

The Spell Pocket faded entirely, leaving Lucius and Hermione standing in the same place they had entered the Spell Pocket, about fifty feet from the school's front steps. The area was strangely quiet for the day after an epic battle. Hermione looked at Lucius. He returned her gaze, shrugging to say he was as baffled by the unusual stillness as she.

The school doors opened and students poured down the steps. They caught sight of Lucius and Hermione, their eyes widening a little as they recognized Draco's father.

"Hullo, Mr. Malfoy," Pansy Parkinson said, as she and a friend skipped down the stairs. "Draco will soon be on his way out if you're looking for him. I believe he's still taking his Potions Exam."

She flitted away, and it took all of Lucius's self control to prevent the confused shock from registering on his face.

_What the hell? _The seventh year students should have already taken their exams a week before the final battle.

"I don't understand," Hermione said a little numbly.

"Nor do I."

Hermione watched as more students came outside, these consisting of various Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, most of whom Hermione didn't know.

"Why would people be taking exams over?" she asked Lucius.

"Because they threw out the old scores do to an unfair amount of low grades resulting from increased stress level at the time? That's my best guess."

"I suppose that makes sense, but something still doesn't seem right. Would they have all the students come back to school _just _to take new exams? Take this back," she told him, handing him the Death Eater cloak. He took it and draped it over his arm.

More students trickled out of the building and Hermione spotted the first Gryffindors. Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas walked down the steps and Hermione called out to them.

"Where's Harry?" she asked them.

"Done with exams already, Hermione? They shouldn't even bother making you take them. Harry's still in Professor Lupin's office taking his Defence Exam. His is special you know."

Hermione knew her face had to be the picture of utter bewilderment.

"What?" they asked her in unison.

"I'm sorry, can you repeat that for me?"

Dean Thomas cocked his head at her.

"Are you sure you're feeling all right?"

Hermione glowered at him. "Please, tell me again."

"Harry's taking his Defence Exam with Professor Lupin."

"Why is Lupin here?"

Both boys looked at her like she'd just lost her mind.

"He's the Defence teacher, isn't he?" Seamus asked.

Hermione swallowed. No point arguing further. "Right," she said. "Any idea when he'll be done?"

Dean shrugged. "Not too much longer I shouldn't think."

The boys walked away. Hermione turned to look at Lucius and found he was standing off a ways, leaning against the side of the building. A mask of cool boredom was fixed upon his features.

She walked over to him.

"Well?" he asked.

"I'm told _Lupin_ is the current Defence Professor."

"_What?!" _ Lucius asked, a little more loudly than he'd planned. "How the hell is that possible?"

"I really wish I knew. Look, I know you don't particularly want to see me again,"

"I never said that."

Hermione looked at him a little taken aback. "Oh. Well in that case I think we need to continue to talk to each other. Something serious has happened and we seem to be the only ones who know it. I'm going to go talk to some others and let you talk to Draco. I'm going to talk to Harry. Will you owl me soon and let me know what you find out?"

"Yes, of course."

Hermione gave him a small smile. She didn't expect him to return it, but he did. Although his expression was decidedly more subtle, just a slight curve of his lips. Still, it was enough.

"I'll await your correspondence, Mr. Malfoy."

And with that she turned and headed off towards the lake.

Lucius walked back towards the front of the school, not wanting to miss his son as he exited the building. He hoped Draco could enlighten him as to what had happened, although something told him Draco wouldn't be much help.

Something had happened. Something significant. It seemed that what Miss Granger had said was right. They were the only ones aware that things were out of , they didn't even know what day it was.

What the hell had happened at the battle after they'd entered the Spell Pocket?

Whatever it was, it had to be something damned unusual.

A/N: I know I said I was updating Enspelled before I posted another chapter. But I had to write this. : ) I will update Enspelled soon. So what did you think of this lovely extra long chapter? Any guesses as to what happened? I know I have a lot of silent readers. I want to hear from all of you! Leave me some love. ; )


	4. Chapter 4

Lucius watched impatiently as more students exited the building. He fleetingly entertained the idea of grabbing a student at random and demanding information from them. Of course, he'd look just a bit unhinged if he decided to do that. It was probably best to wait for his son.

When Draco came out of the building about ten minutes later, Lucius immediately started up the steps, intent on making his presence known and grabbing his son for an immediate private word. He drew up short of his mark as his eyes fell on the piece of fabric neatly tied around Draco's neck. It was a Hogwarts school tie. A crimson and gold Hogwarts school tie.

_What the fucking hell?_

Draco blinked in surprise at his father.

"Dad. What are you doing here?"

Lucius simply stared. Had he been in his normal plane of reality he might have gaped, but as he knew full well he had somehow fallen into an alternate universe he restrained himself. Draco came down the steps until he was eye level with Lucius.

"Is something wrong? Why are you dressed so strangely?"

"Draco, let's go talk. Shall we?"

Lucius put his hand on Draco's shoulder, firmly steering him away from the rest of the student body who were happily celebrating the end of the school year. When they were well out of earshot, Lucius spun Draco around and looked him in the eyes.

"Do you know what a Spell Pocket is?"

"Sure. Why do you ask? No offence, but this is a little weird."

"Deal with it, Draco!" Lucius snapped and Draco jumped back a little, surprised at the outburst. "I'm going to ask you questions. No matter how unusual they might seem, you're going to answer them. If it helps you, pretend that I've been Obliviated by a misfired spell at the Ministry."

Draco's eyes widened considerably at Lucius's last sentence.

"What?" Lucius demanded.

"What's wrong with you?" Draco asked. There was no small amount of fear in his voice.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"You aren't drunk, are you?"

"No. Now tell me why you have that god awful thing around your neck."

Draco gave Lucius an odd look.

"Are you sick? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"_No. _Just answer my damn question."

"It's my house tie, Dad. I'm in Gryffindor."

Lucius stared at the alternate version of his son for a full ten seconds before he burst out laughing so hard tears started to form in his eyes.

"Oh, _of course _you are!" Lucius said through his laughter. "I suppose the next thing you'll tell me is that your dating Harry Potter and you fight with him against the Dark Lord!"

_I think I've died and gone to hell. _If he wasn't drunk now, he certainly would be soon. Lucius forced himself under control. He could tell that Draco was well and truly afraid. He was watching him as if he were seriously insane. Lucius looked at the Gryffindor Draco, the image almost powerful enough to make his gag reflex kick in. Even in an alternate reality, there was something horribly wrong about a Malfoy in Gryffindor colors.

"What can you tell me about Voldemort?"

"Who?"

"Tom Riddle."

"Dad, is this some kind of really distasteful joke?" Draco asked hesitantly.

Suddenly Lucius's hand shot out and grabbed Draco around the neck. The next thing Draco knew he was being slammed into the side of one of Hogwarts' outer walls.

"Do you really think this is a joke?" Lucius said dangerously.

Draco paled and swallowed hard. Lucius could feel his Adam's Apple move beneath his hand.

"No. No, I don't."

"Tell me about Tom Riddle."

"Please, I don't know who you're talking about!"

Glaring, Lucius released him. "Who's the Minister of Magic?"

"There isn't a Ministry of Magic anymore. Hasn't been one for over two years."

Lucius leveled a hard look at Draco. Obviously, Draco was telling the truth, but his words were so unexpected Lucius hardly knew how to respond. Finally he settled for the only question that came to the forefront of his mind.

"Why?"

Draco took a deep breath and released it slowly. "Wizarding Britain is in anarchy. That's what happened when Bellatrix Black became a servant of Chaos Magic and violated the Statute of Secrecy. She's sold us out to Muggle governments and now there's a million pound reward for any Muggle who captures a witch or wizard alive. Muggles are attempting at learning the secrets of magic through human experiementation, though there are plenty of extremist religious groups who simply want us dead."

Lucius took a step or two back from Draco. He didn't know what to think. Muggles attacking wizards? He supposed there was a horrible sort of logic to it. If magic wasn't a secret anymore, Muggles would either be envious or afraid of it.

"Who's the headmaster here?"

"Severus Snape."

_Thank the gods. _Lucius was considerably relieved at Draco's reply. He was in no mood to deal with Albus Dumbledore, even if the man might be different in this reality. Severus Snape, _any_ Severus Snape, was far more preferable to the old Gryffindor.

"Is he still a potions master?!" Lucius demanded next, hoping the answer was yes.

"Of course. I'm glad you haven't forgotten everything," Draco told him.

"You can join your friends now Draco. You've told me what I wanted to know."

"But you"—

"Save your questions for later."

Lucius turned and walked away. Draco was smart enough not to push him for information. His eyes scanned the groups of students, trying to pick out Hermione Granger's figure from a distance. Thinking of her brought a jolt of heat to his groin. He set his jaw and used all the determined discipline he possessed to force the lust aside. For now, at any rate. He spotted her, her hair was a dead giveaway, standing near one of the trees by the lake.

Less than a minute later Lucius was at Hermione's side.

"Talk to Potter later. Things are worse than either of us could have imagined. Severus is the headmaster and I'm going to see him now. I'd appreciate it if you came with me, if nothing else than to at least corroborate my story."

Hermione peeked around Lucius's body to catch a view of the students who were watching them. Lucius commanded a serious presence simply by existing. She couldn't exactly fault the students, especially the female ones, for staring.

"All right," she told him. "It probably is best to deal with things together. If we both talk to them, there will be less of a chance that they'll think we're insane."

Lucius made a gesture with his hand to indicate that she proceed towards the castle. Hermione moved in front of Lucius and stopped briefly, remembering the last time he was behind her. Fortunately, he couldn't see her cheeks color. She led the way towards the castle, ignoring the curious looks from students of various houses. When she and Lucius were nearly at the castle entrance, Harry was coming down the steps.

He stopped suddenly upon laying eyes on Lucius. It was easy to conclude that she going into the castle _with_ him by their close proximity. Harry's eyebrows shot up in an expression that would have been comical under different circumstances.

"Hello, Mr. Malfoy," he said quickly as the two passed him on their way up. "Hermione what's going on?" His tone was curious, though there was no small amount of shocked surprise in it as well.

"I can't talk right now. I'm sorry."

Harry stared after them as they reached the top of the steps and made their way into the castle.

"Do you think Professor Snape might know of a way to get us back?" Hermione asked, once they were out of earshot.

"The Severus Snape I know does have more than a passing knowledge of Spell Pockets. But you must understand, our particular circumstances are quite unprecedented."

Hermione stopped.

"You do think we'll be able to get back, don't you?"

"We'll get back. Mark my words one way or another, we'll get back."

A/N: Sorry, for the long wait. Next chapter will be much longer.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Hermione nearly had to trot to keep up with Lucius's long, purposeful strides. Clearly, he was a man on a mission. As the vast majority of the student body was outside enjoying the nice weather, the halls were empty as the two of them made their way to the Headmaster's office.

Hermione glanced sidelong at Lucius.

"Do you think Snape will believe us?"

Lucius didn't break stride as he answered. "I shan't give him any choice."

Hermione's eyes widened as she imagined what that might mean.

"What are you going to do?" she asked, her voice rising slightly in panic. "Please don't do anything rash!"

This time Lucius slowed a little and looked directly at Hermione.

"I'll only do what must be done."

Suddenly, the bizarre image of Lucius physically throttling Snape over his desk sprung to Hermione's mind. She tried to force it out of her thoughts. He wouldn't be that extreme, would he? God, she hoped not. A fine spot she'd be in if Lucius got himself hauled to prison. Despite the obvious similarities to the world she knew, she hated the idea of being alone in this alternate reality. Lucius was the only person here who knew the world she knew, and despite everything she might list to the contrary, here, he wasn't her enemy. Here, he was her only ally.

In what felt like no time at all, they reached the gargoyle statue that guarded the Headmaster's office. Lucius gave the thing a hard stare, as if he could force it to move by sheer force of will.

"Snape's Headmaster, so I guess the password won't be 'lemon cordial' or something of the sort," Hermione said. "Probably a potion ingredient. What's Snape's favourite potion? Perhaps the password will be one of the ingredients of that."

"Why would I know his favourite potion? Besides, Miss Granger, think logically, his favourite potion in our dimension could be very different from his favourite in this one."

Hermione colored slightly at Lucius's words. "Oh. Right. Sorry. I forgot about that for a second."

"It's quite all right. I think I have an idea."

Hermione arched a brow and a self satisfied smile tugged at the corners of Lucius's lips. He raised his wand, concentrated on a spot in the air and with a deft flick of his wrist, he produced a glowing, silvery patronus which materialized on the marble floor. Hermione looked at it, trying to decide whether it was a komodo dragon or a monitor lizard. The diaphanous creature looked back at her, flicking its tongue in her direction. It was fairly large, almost as long as she was tall, but also strangely kind of cute.

"Patronuses can go through walls," she said to Lucius. "And you can have it relay a message to Snape in your voice."

"Indeed so." Lucius sent a softly glowing spell towards the creature, the spell absorbed into its body and then the lizard set off towards the office. It passed the gargoyle without incident and disappeared into the wall that concealed the staircase.

"Assuming he's inside his office, I suppose we just wait here until we get a response," Hermione said.

"Or until I can think of a suitable alternative."

Hermione looked up at the blonde Death Eater.

"You can't blow the wall apart!"

"Maybe not, but we won't know until I try, will we?"

Hermione hoped Snape _was_ in his office and that he didn't delay in giving Lucius a response. She also wondered what Lucius had enspelled his Patronus to tell Snape. He hadn't relayed the message out loud. Was that because he thought she might object to his choice of words?

_Please, to whatever gods might be listening, don't make this any worse than it already is._

Fortunately, Hermione seemed to be in luck. After a little over a minute a doorway appeared in the wall, revealing a wooden staircase. She heard a group of curious voices murmuring from the doorway to the Headmaster's office and she immediately recognized the voices of McGonagall and Lupin. She relaxed a little, suddenly feeling better that the two of them were also with Snape and would be able to help prevent any physical confrontation between the two men. She heard the sound of footsteps descending the stairs before the form of Severus Snape came into view.

When he did, she nearly took a step backward in surprise. Or several. Her eyes widened and she quickly swallowed down a surprised gasp.

_Dear Merlin . . . _thought Hermione. She would have looked away to glance at Lucius to see what his reaction was, but found she couldn't tear her gaze away from the sight of Snape's face.

Someone or something had removed his eyes. Smooth hollow sockets stared at her from where his eyes should have been. Hermione didn't know how long the silence stretched on with him standing on the staircase and her and Lucius staring at him. It couldn't have been for long. But Hermione knew that stretch of silence, however long it was, would be imprinted on her mind until the day she died. It was hard to forget when it was accompanied by a sharp sickening jolt of dread that plummeted down and settled low in her stomach.

"Is no one here?" Snape asked, his voice clearly conveying he was confident that he was not alone.

"I'm here, Severus. And so is Hermione Granger," Lucius told him.

Snape's right brow arched slightly, a normally familiar gesture made coldly eerie with the current state of his face.

"Really?" drawled Snape in a tone that was the exact match of the man they knew. "Somehow I was given to believe that her existence was beneath your notice."

"Whatever my beliefs were before, the current circumstances have moved me to reconsider them. Miss Granger and I have a common problem that we need your help in solving."

"Before?" asked Snape. "Before what?"

"Before she and I accidentally landed here through a particularly powerful Spell Pocket."

Snape stilled at Lucius's words. Hermione fought down the urge to hold her breath in anticipation of his reply.

"How can that be?" Snape asked softly. "Surely you don't mean to tell me you were dueling with the girl?"

"No. We came here from a parallel reality during the height of an open battle on Hogwarts' grounds."

Snape's only noticeable reaction to this revelation was a sudden tightening of his hand on the stair railing. He didn't immediately say anything. The silence was quickly broken by the sound of more feet on the stairs.

"Severus, what's going on?" It was Lupin's voice. He quickly joined Severus on the lower steps. Hermione looked at him and was very glad to see his appearance was if anything better than what she was used to seeing. His skin looked brighter and healthier and the lines in his face were far less noticeable. Standing behind Snape, Remus placed a hand gently on Snape's shoulder. Hermione noticed it and wondered. While it could have been a simple gesture of support for a blind man, Hermione couldn't help but think it was a sign of something much deeper. And blind though he was, Hermione didn't believe for a single second that this dimension's Severus Snape was any less capable of taking care of himself than the one she was familiar with.

Remus leveled a direct look at her and Lucius.

"Miss Granger," he said formally, nodding slightly. "Malfoy."

Snape still hadn't said a word.

"Well, Severus, what are we supposed to do? Shall we just stand here and hope another Spell Pocket just randomly descends on the very spot Hermione and I are standing and gets us back to the right place?"

At Lucius's harsh inquiry, Remus turned a frosty glare in his direction.

"No," Snape said at last. "Come upstairs."

"What's this about a Spell Pocket?" Remus asked.

"Let them explain themselves from the beginning," Snape told him.

"All right," said Remus. He looked inquiringly at Hermione and spared a quick glance for Lucius. "Would either of you like some tea? I was just about to put the kettle on."

For the first time Hermione noticed she was hungry as well as thirsty. When had she last eaten? From where she stood now, it felt like centuries ago.

"You don't happen to have anything to eat, do you?" she asked.

"I can floo the kitchen staff if you like. I'm sure they won't mind bringing something up."

"Could you perhaps see what the House Elves have available and have them bring up whatever's convenient?" Hermione asked. She hated the idea of making the elves do work when it wasn't strictly expected or required of them.

Remus blinked at her. He seemed a bit taken aback at her words.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Can you ask the House Elves what's available in the kitchens, please?"

"House what? Did you just say Elves? I haven't the smallest clue what you mean by that."

Hermione darted a sideways glance at Lucius who merely gave a barely noticeable shrug.

"Who works in the kitchens?" Lucius asked.

"The serving witches, of course," Remus told him. "Though now, I think there maybe a serving wizard or two on the Hogwarts' payrolls."

"Oh," said Hermione. "How long has Hogwarts had human servants?"

Remus gave her a strange look. "Since the day it was founded."

Snape started up the stairs. "I take it your world is quite different from this one. I daresay it'll be interesting to see just how different the two of them are."

As she followed Snape and Remus up the stairs with Lucius just behind her, Hermione couldn't help thinking that the ensuing conversation was sure to be a memorable one.

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait! I promise you won't have to wait that long again. I had planned for this chapter to be over 4,000 words long, but I figured I'd post the first part now to let you know I'm still here.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

There was no mistaking the surprised look on Minerva McGonagall's face when Hermione walked into the office at Lucius's side. She angled a look at Remus who merely shrugged. Minerva then proceeded to conjure two more armchairs in Gryffindor crimson and gold.

At that, Hermione almost smiled. At least the old witch's House spirit was the same here as it was back home. It might have been something small, but something reassuring nonetheless.

Hermione watched Snape move around the Headmaster's desk to take his seat. He moved with the ease of a man long accustomed to being blind. She wondered how long it had been since he'd lost his sight.

Hermione glanced at Lucius. Did he expect her to do the talking or did he intend to begin the explanation? Her eyes met his and an electrifying jolt of attraction traveled through her. She hoped to whatever gods might be listening that she wasn't blushing. She swallowed hard and shifted her gaze to somewhere between his chin and his Adam's apple. When McGonagall handed her a cup of tea, she gratefully accepted it, glad to have something to else to focus her attention on.

She decided that she'd let Lucius be the first to speak. He looked at Snape and Lupin, trying to decide where to begin. He didn't hesitate for long, deciding to start with whatever came to mind.

"In our world, Miss Granger and I support opposing sides of a decades long war. There's dark wizard who calls himself Voldemort. He wishes to exterminate Muggles and Muggleborns and make himself the ruler of at least all of wizarding Britain, perhaps also the whole of the wizarding world. He has created a legion of followers who are tasked with employing dark magic to help him succeed in his plans. I am a high ranking member of that group."

Lucius paused, waiting for everyone to absorb his words. Lupin gave him a rather hard look.

"Not that I don't believe you, Malfoy, because I do. You'd have to be madder than a hatter to concoct a story as bizarre as what you're telling. But do you happen to have any sort of substantial proof of what you say is true?"

Lucius didn't say anything. Instead, he merely rolled up his sleeve and extended his forearm. The black outlines of the dark mark stood out starkly against his skin.

"It's a magical brand that Voldemort uses to call his Death Eaters to him."

"So this Voldemort is a pureblood?" McGonagall asked.

"Actually no. He's a halfblood."

Snape smirked at this. "Bloody figures."

"Quite," said Lucius. "He tried to kill a child a little less than twenty years ago, there was a prophecy . . ." Lucius glanced at Hermione, seeing if there was anything she wanted to add or if she had any pressing desire to take control of the conversation. She gave him a look that urged him to continue. "Voldemort believed that in order to reach his full power, he had to murder the boy. So, after killing the boy's parents he attempted to cast the killing curse upon one-year-old Harry Potter. For the first time in known history, the curse rebounded back upon him and weakened him severely. For the next decade there was relative calm. Then when Harry attended his first year at Hogwarts, Voldemort managed to confront him with the intention of successfully killing him. When that failed, he attempted to try a different approach the next year. Forgive me, but does this reality have a knowledge of Horcruxes?"

Lucius's stomach sank a little at the blank looks on both McGonagall and Lupin's faces. Snape cocked his head a little, his mouth set in a firm line. He hadn't said anything yet, and Lucius dared hope that when he did speak it would be words to express understanding.

"Do you mean the ripping of one's soul into pieces to be kept in an object?"

"That's precisely what I mean."

Lupin and McGonagall exchanged a look.

"It's an ancient and rather obscure form of dark magic," said Severus.

"Voldemort split his soul seven times," Hermione told him.

Severus stilled and it was evident from his body language that had he still possessed his sight he would have had a significantly surprised look.

"He intends to become immortal," Hermione added.

"Tell us exactly how your Spell Pocket was created," Severus said.

"There was a battle going on at Hogwarts, the fighting was especially heavy outside on the grounds. I was actually dueling with Bellatrix Lestrange when a bright ball of light descended upon me, I fell into Lucius and we ended up inside the pocket."

Hermione was very careful to avoid eye contact with Lucius at this point. Privately, she was grateful that Snape couldn't see her face, he was too clever by half and would likely discern something she didn't want him to see in her expression.

"How many people were dueling at the time of the pocket's emergence?"

Hermione and Lucius both considered the question.

"Several hundred," said Lucius.

"The two sides were pretty evenly matched," Hermione told them.

Snape made a face. "If they were evenly matched, Miss Granger, a Spell Pocket would be nigh impossible. Unless the magical mechanics of your reality are so vastly different from ours, which I'm not inclined to believe, a Spell Pocket can only occur when there is a dramatic shift in the power scale. When two or more parties are dueling for an extended period of time and are either at a stalemate or one party is clearly winning, and then suddenly the tables are turned, the abrupt surge in magical energy can be strong enough to create a Spell Pocket. I should wonder whether the battle created more than the one you were trapped in.

"Usually Spell Pockets don't last very long. How long would you say you were inside the pocket before you were deposited here?"

Neither Lucius nor Hermione moved to answer.

"It's hard to say really," Hermione said, more than a little uneasy at finding her voice was a bit tight. She swallowed hard.

"You must have some idea," said Lupin.

"Hours," Lucius said vaguely.

Lupin narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "How many hours _precisely_ Malfoy? And you'd better not say anything vague."

"No more than six hours."

Snape didn't immediately say anything. Lupin didn't either, and wore an expression of surprised perplexity. McGonagall met Hermione's gaze.

"Describe the Spell Pocket."

"A hilly meadow with a single giant tree."

"The pocket had a detailed environment? You must have been in one hell of a battle," said Severus.

"I'd say that about sums it up," Hermione told him. It was so much easier to meet Snape's eyeless gaze than submit to the scrutinizing stares of Lupin and McGonagall. Once she got accustomed to Snapes's appearance, it was easy to accept.

"If the battle had decisively ended, the Spell Pocket would have opened back on the spot we entered it, correct?" Lucius asked.

"That seems like a logical statement," Snape told him, before taking another sip of his tea. "There's just one thing I don't understand."

Hermione's stomach lurched uncomfortably.

"What's that?" she asked, trying to keep her voice strong and even. She definitely could have succeeded better.

"Why would the pocket transport you to an alternate reality? Within the laws of magic, things don't generally happen without a reason. While it is possible for Spell Pockets to generate alternate realities, the occurrence of it is infinitesimally low. And every time it's been documented, there were consciously created energies within the pocket that enabled the transportation."

Hermione's heart skipped a beat. She now had a very painful knot in her stomach.

"I would say that the two of you were trying to duel to the death inside the pocket, only I can't do that because wands don't work properly within a pocket's confines. Either both of you are skilled masters of Legillimency or you managed to generate an increase in the pocket's power by different means. No offence, Miss Granger, but I rather doubt you are a trained Legillimens. So do please tell me, what did you do while you were inside the pocket?"

Hermione had to force herself to breathe steadily. She felt the stares of Lupin and McGonagall, as they waited expectantly for an answer. She looked sideways at Lucius. He was a bit more composed than she was, but clearly the look on his features said plainly that he'd rather be anywhere but his current location. Unable to think of anything else to do, Hermione darted a look at Lupin.

"Do you think Lucius and I can step outside for a minute or two?"

Lupin gestured at the door. "You're hardly our prisoner, Miss Granger."

"Right then," she said as she nearly jumped up from her chair. She gave Lucius a meaningful look. "We'll try not to be long."

Lucius had no choice but to follow her out the door. Hermione didn't say a word until she reached the bottom of the staircase. She then rounded on Lucius with a fiercely desperate look that nearly took him back a step or two.

"What are we going to tell them?" she asked, making an effort to keep her voice from rising completely.

"What else can we tell them but the truth?" Lucius asked.

Hermione looked stricken. "I'm afraid that's not the best option. What if they think it wasn't consensual and send you to prison?"

Lucius went still. "Why would they think that?" His voice was oddly quiet.

"You're the Death Eater! I'm the vulnerable and defenceless Muggleborn. Why don't you do the math?"

"If you give no indication of that being the case, they aren't going to jump to such an extreme conclusion."

"HOW DO YOU KNOW?"

"Please clam down, Hermione. It'll be all right, I promise."

Hermione looked at him, beginning to tremble. "I don't know if I can believe you. You and I have no control over what they think. We can try our best to make them understand, but ultimately our fate rests in their hands. You never really know how people will react to shocking news."

"No, you don't, but we need their help to get home. Telling them the truth could mean the difference between getting back to our reality and being trapped here indefinitely. No matter what they think, it's in our best interests to be completely honest."

"Lucius?" Hermione asked, in a small voice.

"Yes?"

"I can't bear the thought of being left alone here."

"You won't be alone. You'll have me here with you."

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

"Thank you. It means a lot to hear you say that." she whispered. To her surprise, the Death Eater graced her with a genuine smile.

"Shall we?" he asked. Hermione nodded. The two of them then returned to the Headmaster's office.

Despite Lucius's words of assurance, Hermione didn't feel much better. She found herself wishing it was all some sort of very bizarre dream as Lucius spoke.

"We had intercourse," he said as calmly as he could.

"_Consensual _ intercourse," Hermione said with conviction.

Their reactions were all in all better than what Hermione had been expecting. McGonagall busied herself with stirring a good bit of more sugar into her tea. Lupin let out a sardonic sound and sat back in his chair. He didn't look too concerned. By the expression on his face it seemed he'd just received an answer to a private question.

Snape's lips formed a taut line. He thought for a moment, not moving a muscle. Hermione's stomach did a sickening flip. His empty gaze met Hermione's as accurately as it would had he had perfect vision.

"Forgive me, Miss Granger, but I have to ask, in order to understand what magic energies were involved, were you a virgin?"

"Yes," she said, not looking at him.

Snape exhaled audibly. The sound held a note of displeasure.

"For the record, it may be difficult to get you back where you came from."

"Why do you say that?" Hermione asked, her voice hollow.

"It'll hardly be easy to recreate the force of power that brought you here. I'll say this only once, having intercourse in such a magically unstable environment was probably the very worst thing you could have done. Sex creates a skyrocketing amount of magical energy quite well on its own without any help from the volatile nature of a Spell Pocket. Inside a Spell Pocket, I should think the amount of power generated would be exponentially greater. For all I know it may be utterly impossible to return you to your reality. I daresay there will be hours of frustrating research ahead. I hope you enjoy academics as much as your native counterpart."

"Research won't be a problem for me," she said with confidence.

"Now," said Severus. "Tell me more about your reality. We know already that your Hogwarts doesn't use human servants."

"No, they use creatures called House Elves. They're practically enslaved to wizarding humanity. They don't have any standard rights, and have been treated quite barbarically by some of their masters." She darted a sharp look at Lucius who didn't so much as blink.

"Anything else you've noticed that isn't familiar?" Snape asked.

"Bellatrix Lestrange isn't a powerful figurehead." Hermione said. "Thank the gods." Given her history with the woman, she couldn't help but look uncomfortable.

"In our reality, my son is a Slytherin." said Lucius at length.

"Ah."

Snape's lips pressed into a firm line once more and it was a moment before he spoke again.

"Miss Granger, do you have any personal reason for fearing Bellatrix Lestrange?" Snape asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"I want to see if I can spot a pattern in the differences between this reality and yours."

"She tortured me with the Cruciatus Curse."

Snape was oddly quiet for a short moment."And the bitch took my eyes," said Snape. "Couldn't have me performing Legilimency on her agents."

"It requires direct eye contact," said Hermione.

"Indeed."

Hermione didn't want think about the horrible agony Snape must have experienced. If this reality's Bellatrix Lestrange was anything like the one she knew, she had a sneaking suspicion she understood why the witch didn't just kill Snape outright. Horribly disfiguring him and robbing him of his sight, his most valuable physical sense, and letting him live to force him to suffer from the loss was much more self-satisfying for her. She would have told Snape that she was sorry for what happened to him, but she really didn't think he'd appreciate the sentiment.

Snape addressed Lucius. "You wouldn't happen to have wished for the Ministry's annihilation?"

Lucius looked at him, knowing he couldn't see his face but unable to stop himself from showing his surprise.

"I might have, at one time or another, yes."

Snape gave Lucius and Hermione a small, humorless smile.

"The energy you contributed to the Spell Pocket helped to fashion a reality created from both of your greatest wishes and fears. Normally, an alternate reality made by something as unpredictable as a Spell Pocket would never have such a personal meaning to those trapped in the Pocket. But because sex releases a detailed magical signature, the alternate reality you entered is deeply personal. I assume, Miss Granger that from the way you talk about your world's House Elves, you've wished on more than one occasion for there to be a world free of their slavery?"

Hermione only nodded.

"Lucius wished for the end of the Ministry of Magic. One of your fears, possibly even nightmares, is having Bellatrix Lestrange be as powerful as the Voldemort of your world. I'm sure Lucius's worst nightmare, Slytherin as he is, is having his only son be a true-blooded Gryffindor."

Lucius and Hermione exchanged a look. Snape's explanation made a lot of sense.

"How many differences do you think there are?" Hermione ventured to ask. "Do you think it's just those four?"

"It depends on how many things you've truly wished for or truly dreaded."

Hermione thought for a moment. "In our reality, Lupin is werewolf. I've wished that he could live a normal life free of the persecution his kind receives out of hand."

Lupin raised an eyebrow. "I certainly not a werewolf."

"There's another instance of the pattern. Can you think of another fear?" Snape asked.

"I've feared getting a below Outstanding on my OWLS."

At Snape's pause, she got the feeling that had he still possessed his eyes he would have rolled them.

"And this gave you nightmares?"

"Well . . . yes, actually."

Lupin snorted. McGonagall looked thoughtful. "You know I think I might have only given you an Exceeds Expectations."

Hermione momentarily looked horrified. McGonagall couldn't help but smile.

"Remember Miss Granger, they aren't _your _actual test scores, only those belonging to the Hermione Granger I know."

"Right."

"Speaking of that, . . . we may need your counterparts to help us get you back home. That is, if they're agreeable to the idea. Allow me to owl them and apprise them of the situation. For the time being, I think it's best you stay here. It's not entirely safe outside the school's grounds. I'm sure Lupin will allow you use of his rooms."

Lupin slanted a glance in Snape's direction, even though he knew the man could not see it. Hermione watched Snape carefully and there at the corners of his mouth a faint smile twitched. Snape knew Lupin was looking at him. Briefly, she wondered if the two of them had a relationship in her reality as well.

"Shall we deliver dinner to you?" McGonagall asked.

"Please," said Hermione.

"I'll let you know as soon as I hear from the other Malfoy and Granger." Snape told them. "Somehow, I rather doubt they'll ignore my missives."

"You aren't planning on telling them _how _we got here, are you?"

"Not immediately no. There's only so much shock you can expect a person to take." Snape gave her a smile.

Lupin rose from his seat and Lucius and Hermione did the same.

"Come, I'll take you to your room."

A/N: Sorry it's been so long. That thing we like to call real life decided to interfere with my fanfiction. I'm back now, hopefully on a much more consistent basis. : )


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